20 Seconds Of Open Shutter & A Desalination Plant (I Think)

        If you stand at the the Southern tip of San Diego Bay and face North, you will see a factory at your 10 o’clock. As far as I know, and judging by the piles of salt around the factory, this factory is involved in the removal of salt from ocean water. I suppose the salt is then exported to the salt deprived countries of the work, and the water deprived people of San Diego. I was 6000 feet away from the factory when I snapped this pic. Super-zoom cameras are the shit, right?

Golden Hour In San Diego

        Same factory, seen while the sun is casting it’s final rays for the day upon it. Ever since my tripod got smashed to Hell by a pack of rabid wolves over the summer, I have had to hand hold all my shots. Easy during the day but less than optimal during the night.

30 Second Exposure Of San Diego’s Silver Strand Dinosaur Cage

        I set my camera on a bench, near the bike path, pressed the shutter and let the magic happen.

Imperial Beach’s Dinosaur Cage

        I’m still hoping for my money shot of the Dinosaur Cage, located on the Southern end of San Diego Bay. I like what I’ve done but I think something better is in store.

Apollo Lunar Lander As Seen In November, 1969

        I was fortunate enough to be part of the pre-landing party back in 1969. We all drove out to a remote part of Texas teleported to The Sea Of Tranquility, on the lunar surface a few hours before the those arrogant, rock star astronauts arrived. After spending the afternoon watching them play golf and fumble around, while being recorded at 220 frames per second, I realized that I needed something a little more real than lunar exploration to satisfy my photographic needs.

I Want To Be A Real RocknRolla

The Biggest Moon Of The Year Just Didn’t Cooperate

        This post will be a little bit different because it will offer a view of the man behind the curtain. October 4th was the actual harvest moon for 2009, but nothing was falling into place, photographically. I had no tripod and the moon was already well above the horizon by the time I set out, so I felt like I had failed. The once a year harvest moon was not properly photographed by me because I was late out of the blocks. What can I say? It wasn’t until I was entering my pad that I saw the spider above, huge and fluttering on it’s web in a very stiff evening breeze. I tried to capture, in camera, the spider, against the moon, but the wind was so strong and my hand so unsteady that I could not quite get the metering I hoped for.

My Mad Photoshop CS4 Skills Had Failed Me

        I attempted to use my digital darkroom to recreate what my eyes had seen, but it was to no avail. The image size had to be reduced so that I would not look like an imbecile, posting photos that were nothing more than hacks or garbage. Hopefully, you can still get an idea of what I was trying to do, even though I failed to do it.

It’s Important Not To Hide When You Fail

        Yet fail is what I did, yet again with this web. The spider, on his web was moving aroung in the breeze so much that use=ing my on camera flash was the only way I could could any detail. The problem was that using the flash blew out the spider, so it was a pure white mess. My solution was to crop as much of the web as I could and that mirror image it so it would look like I had done a grander job than I actually had. Don’t tell!

What Would My Role For This Moon Have Been 1000 Years Ago?

        I actually like this shot, even though it is just a glorified snapshot, and won’t make me any money. The moon has a sense of scale with the trees and the clouds. It lights up the sky and clouds but not the trees. It is huge and it was captured by me. Yes!

Simple Bold Colors

        Near the dinosaur cage, is the Southern end of San Diego’s Bay, the proverbial end of the line. The water goes no further than this point here. In the photo above, you are looking due South, seeing light reflected from the Southern most bit of water contained by the land of the bay. To your right is the relentless Pacific Ocean and to your left is Imperial Beach.

Everyone Is Welcome At Technomania Circus!

        The Blacklight & Fire Show @ Technomania Circus is the natural result of our high-tech and brightly lit world. Welding masks hide the faces of musicians playing fire dancing instruments; a beautiful woman tames reluctant flames, men breath fire as if they were dragons from thousand year old European lore. Leave planet Earth on an interstellar chase through a galaxy of bold colors and infinite black with the 3D optical illusions of blacklight.

Kidnapping, Magic, Galactic Travel & Dancing Reunions

All are welcome, with 21 & up encouraged.

Arrive 30 minutes early and you can sit anywhere you want.

If you bring snacks, reusable containers are better than foil & plastic bags.

Take the trolley to 25th & Commercial – It’s a piece of cake, don’t be scared.

Bottled water is free and the bathroom would make Louie XIV jealous.

The more you cheer, the better the show.

These Fire Gods Make Their Creations Sing & Dance

        The metal strings, brass buttons, horsehair strung bows and hide covered drums we know as the only way to make music are volcanically replaced with fire and gas by these blind, carbon based beings.  They are obviously minions from the center of a superheated star, with fire itself ready to leap at the flick of a wrist.

This Is The Fire Show!

        Believe it or not, you don’t need a tripod because the fire gives you arches of instant, one of a kind light, so bring a camera because every shot is gold!  Fire, an element, a realm of the gods, a WEAPON of the gods is flung before your very eyes and then recalled and made to dance.  It is an unbelievable site to watch fire as a slave to a flesh & blood mortal.

You have got to see the music filled world of the Techno-Gods and their amazingly colored world.

Find out what is going on with Technomania Circus for yourself.

Just walk around to the back.  Go ahead!

I returned to the scene of the crime.  As I monitored the progress of the latest Cop Condominium in my neighborhood, I was again challenged by an officer of the law.  The challenge was actually more of a wrestling match, but I had my own back-up present, so I won the challenge.

Taxpayer Money During A Recession: $12.3 million

What really got me was the complete lack of progress on the police station’s construction.  Maybe the cops in the area should threaten & belittle the construction workers like they do photographers, blacks, homeless people and Norwegians.

So, despite the fact that I was feeling bulletproof from standing toe-toe with a cop and emerging victorious, I wasn’t done for the night,  I found a cannon sitting nearby, so I took an image of it & the moon

This is a very old cannon,  What is a cannon anyway?

Maybe if I had the time to deceive people tonight, I would have PS’d a better rendition of the moon.

Hiding Behind an Industrial Truck So The Police Won’t Interrogate Me

Here is your lesson of the night people:  If you are in America and a Cop detains you, DO NOT SAY ANYTHING without an attorney present!

There are a few things you must remember when using your camera at night, one of them is the mentality of a cop.  This police station is being built right around the corner from current residence of the local police force.  Standing well outside the chain-link barrier, I snapped images of this giant, metal arachnid, all the while noticing that a police cruiser was creeping up on me from about my 5 o’clock.

When challenged by the voice hidden behind a beaming spotlight as to what I was doing, I said I was performing the art of photography.  The arrogant man then asked why I was taking pictures of a construction site at night.  I did not understand what he meant, which is what I told him.  A verbal explanation by my new, spotlight wielding friend made me understand that this particular crime-fighter thought that my camera, which was slung across my body looked like a gun, which is why he was questioning me now.

I politely asked him, “What kind of gun?”

“Excuse me”, he asked?

“What kind of gun is it that you think my digital camera looks like?”

For some reason, this caused him to launch into a typical authority-figure-in-a-no-consequence-environment lecture that was so boringly parental, it caused me to drift off at least twice while I was being spoken to.

Afterward he left & I continued my shoot.  “Viva La Revolucion” was what I shouted into the night as he drove away.  As a non Spanish speaker, I can only guess at what that actually means.  With any luck at all, it means that photography is NOT illegal.

So after that I went and mixed a little bit of flash with a WHOLE LOT of shutter time at a nearby fountain.  This constant flow of water was just what I needed to wrap up my impromptu night-shoot.